stock markethttp://www.maclife.com/taxonomy/term/3898/all
enApple Stock Plummeted Today, and No One Really Knows Whyhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_stock_plummeted_today_and_no_one_really_knows_why
<!--paging_filter--><p>Apple stock has been positively soaring as of late, and recently the company pushed past a milestone <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/apples_market_cap_reaches_700_billion_milestone" target="_blank">$700 billion </a>market valuation — a higher number than any U.S. company's ever reached in history. And yet today, almost like a runner tripping on an uneven sidewalk, it stumbled badly. Within the space of a minute, Apple's ridiculously valuable stock dropped a full 3 percent; by the afternoon, it was down by 6.8 percent.</p><p>For perspective, that's around $40 billion lost within the span of a few hours. No one really knows why the drop occurred, but Steve Hammer, a trading educator and founder of HFT Alert, claims it was simply "algorithmic trading" in action. According to him, institutions initiated sell programs around that time.</p><p><img src="/files/u334114/2014/12/aaplstock.jpg" width="620" height="544" /></p><p>"When you see that kind of price action, that is simply algos running stocks," Hammer said in a statement to <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-shares-suddenly-tumble-heavy-152646118.html" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p><p>Still other analysts suggest that investors cashing in on profits or disappointing Black Friday sales numbers caused the drop, while others even point to the low cost of oil.</p><p>Some of that seems likely, as stocks were down for tech companies across the board. Twitter stock fell by 5 percent today, Facebook dropped by 2 percent, and LinkedIn saw its value drop by 4 percent. Google was affected as well, but its value loss amounted to a mere 1 percent.</p><p>But the drop affected no one quite like Apple, which saw 64 million of its shares traded by 2:00 P.M. EST, easily making it the most active stock of the day. Stocks rebounded a tad later in the day, but they're nowhere near the highs we saw as recently as yesterday.</p><p><em>Follow this article's writer, <a href="https://twitter.com/LeifJohnson" target="_blank">Leif Johnson</a>, on Twitter.</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_stock_plummeted_today_and_no_one_really_knows_why#commentsNews$700 billionapplemarket valueShareholderssharesstock marketTue, 02 Dec 2014 00:41:33 +0000Leif Johnson21014 at http://www.maclife.comApple's Market Cap Reaches $700 Billion Milestonehttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/apples_market_cap_reaches_700_billion_milestone
<!--paging_filter--><p>Another day, another story about Apple breaking records for its market value. But this time, it's really,&nbsp;<em>really</em>&nbsp;impressive.&nbsp;Today the Cupertino company's market capitalization shot over $700 billion for the first time before slipping a bit in after-hours trading. The current share price stands at $119.65 at the time of writing, which translates into around $837 if Apple's stock split from earlier in the year is taken out of the equation.</p><p>Only <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/apples_record_high_market_cap_makes_it_worth_more_russian_stock_market" target="_blank">a few days ago</a>, Apple reached a market capitalization of $663.2 billion, leading Bloomberg to point out that the iPhone maker was now worth more than the entire Russian stock market. That's an increase of roughly $40 billion within the span of only two weeks. The company has seen an almost 60 percent boost in the valuation of its stock over the last year alone, and the stock has jumped up by 24 percent in the weeks since the company's October 16 iPhone reveal event.</p><p><img src="/files/u334114/2014/11/timcookhappy.jpg" width="620" height="282" /></p><p>That's a big turn of events considering that so much of 2013 was filled with stories of investors fretting that Apple wasn't doing enough to introduce new categories and that new CEO Tim Cook perhaps wasn't the man that should have succeeded Steve Jobs. (In fact, Apple stock has now doubled in value since Cook took the helm.) Apple stock tumbled deeply after reaching a previous market cap of $658 billion in 2012, but the record-breaking sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have pushed it far past that.</p><p>And with the holidays just around the corner, Apple's market cap could rise further still. Apple Pay and the buzz surrounding the upcoming Apple Watch have also attracted the attention of investors, who should find their stockings stuffed with a lot of a green if Apple maintains its current pace.</p><p>The Wall Street Journal has compiled<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/11/25/17-facts-about-apple-now-that-its-worth-700-billion/" target="_blank"> a list</a> of 17 facts that put Apple's $700 billion market capitalization in perspective, and several of them reveal just how far the Cupertino company's come in just a few years. During the dot-com boom, for instance, Microsoft's value was a full 26 times larger than Apple; today, Tim Cook's company is 1.78 percent larger than its Redmond rival.</p><p><em>Follow this article's writer, <a href="https://twitter.com/LeifJohnson" target="_blank">Leif Johnson</a>, on Twitter.</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/apples_market_cap_reaches_700_billion_milestone#commentsNewsappleBusinessinvestorsMarket Capmarket capitalizationmarket valuesharesstock marketStocksTim CookTue, 25 Nov 2014 23:48:59 +0000Leif Johnson20990 at http://www.maclife.comApple's Record High Market Cap Makes It Worth More Than the Russian Stock Markethttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/apples_record_high_market_cap_makes_it_worth_more_russian_stock_market
<!--paging_filter--><p>We all know Apple is a valuable brand, but lately that value has started to reach some otherworldly heights. That especially rang true yesterday when Apple's market cap reached an all-time high of $663.2 billion, a number that's so up there that <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-11-14/apple-could-swallow-russian-stock-market" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a> says it makes Apple worth more than the entire Russian stock market.</p><p>In the words of Bloomberg's Mark Stanton, who presented the relevant charts as a "smackdown," that's enough for Apple to buy the whole Russian stock market and still have enough money left over to buy every person in Russia an iPhone Plus.</p><p><img src="/files/u334114/2014/11/russianshot.jpg" width="620" height="333" /></p><p>Lately Apple has been breaking <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/shares_apple_stock_close_alltime_high" target="_blank">so many records </a>in this regard that it sometimes seems old hat to report them. Today's market milestone is only the latest development in a steady rebound following the company's sharp dip after reaching its previous high of $658 billion in September 2012. And based on the charts, the outlook for Apple's literal and figurative fortunes only looks better and better.</p><p>The same can't be said of Russia, which only finds itself in this position owing to a steadily declining market cap that's now approaching levels unseen since the Great Recession. At the time of writing, the Russian stock market stood at $531 billion, considerably below Apple's impressive numbers.</p><p>Stanton noted that Apple's market value also puts it ahead of the stock market values for Singapore and Italy.</p><p><em>Follow this article's writer, <a href="https://twitter.com/LeifJohnson" target="_blank">Leif Johnson</a>, on Twitter.</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/apples_record_high_market_cap_makes_it_worth_more_russian_stock_market#commentsNewsapplebloombergBusinessMarket CaprecordsRussiansharesstock marketFri, 14 Nov 2014 22:47:14 +0000Leif Johnson20940 at http://www.maclife.comMetroPCS Merger Complete, T-Mobile Celebrates with Free MLB.TVhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/metropcs_merger_complete_tmobile_celebrates_free_mlbtv
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/t-mobile_logo_200px.png" alt="T-Mobile logo" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />That was quick! Less than a week after MetroPCS shareholders approved a merger with T-Mobile USA, the companies have announced the deal is done and the combined company is already trading on the stock exchange.<br /><br /><a href="http://investor.t-mobile.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=177745&amp;p=irol-newsArticle&amp;ID=1813508&amp;highlight=" target="_blank">Deutsche Telekom AG and T-Mobile US, Inc. announced Wednesday</a> that the parent company's merger with MetroPCS Communications, Inc. is now complete. The deal should give a nice boost to fourth-placed U.S. carrier T-Mobile, who plans to use existing MetroPCS spectrum to accelerate its plans for 4G LTE expansion.<br /><br />“The combination of T-Mobile and MetroPCS creates an even stronger disruptive force in the U.S. wireless market,” said John Legere, President &amp; Chief Executive Officer of T-Mobile US, Inc. “Together, as America’s Un-carrier, we’ll continue our legacy of marketplace innovation by tearing up the old playbook and rewriting the rules of wireless to benefit consumers.”<br /><br />The combined company will now be known as T-Mobile US, Inc. and began trading on the&nbsp; New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday under the new ticker symbol "TMUS."<br /><br />While it's totally unrelated to the merger, <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2013/05/01/t-mobile-offers-its-customers-free-season-long-streaming-access-to-mlb-com/" target="_blank">9to5Mac is reporting</a> that T-Mobile customers who happen to be fans of Major League Baseball can celebrate with an entire season of free streaming access to the MLB.TV Game of the Day.<br /><br />New and existing customers on the T-Mobile network can download the free subscription app between May 1 and June 30 from the App Store or Google Play and receive full access to the 2013 MLB season, a $19.99 value.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/metropcs_merger_complete_tmobile_celebrates_free_mlbtv#commentsNewsApp Storeapp subscriptionscell phone industryGoogle PlaymergersMetroPCSMLBstock marketT-Mobileun-carrieriPadiPhoneiPodWed, 01 May 2013 12:55:55 +0000J.R. Bookwalter16891 at http://www.maclife.comSuppliers, Investors Feeling iPhone Maker's "Poison Apple" Reputationhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/suppliers_investors_feeling_iphone_makers_poison_apple_reputation
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/apple_logo_on_gray_200px.png" alt="Apple logo on gray" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Apple won't announce quarterly earnings until Tuesday afternoon, but a new report sheds light on why suppliers -- as well as investors -- are growing increasingly frustrated with the iPhone maker.<br /><br />On Sunday, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/21/us-apple-suppliers-idUSBRE93K04520130421" target="_blank">Reuters published a look</a> at how Apple's reputation has become tarnished not only on Wall Street, but also with Asian suppliers who frequently refer to the company as "Poison Apple" thanks to a toxic mix of high product quality expectations and rock-bottom prices.<br /><br />The frustration seems to have reached a boiling point as suppliers are in a holding pattern waiting for the next iPhone to be manufactured, a process initially expected in June. Sources claim that date is now in flux, reportedly because Apple has yet to find the right "coating material" for a fingerprint sensor widely been rumored to be a new addition to the so-called "iPhone 5S."<br /><br />The timing couldn't be worse, as anticipation builds for the next iPhone and analysts call for slower growth with Apple's product lines after big gains in 2012. While some claim a stall in growth is "inevitable" considering the size of the company, investors are bracing for the worst.<br /><br />Others point to the "irrational" predictions made about Apple last year, when a handful of analysts claimed the company's stock price could reach $1,000 per share -- a price that appears unlikely anytime soon now that AAPL has dipped below $400 for the first time in nearly three years.<br /><br />"The market is not being irrational with Apple today," remarked an unnamed hedge fund manager. "The market was being irrational with Apple last year, when they kept taking the stock price higher."<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/suppliers_investors_feeling_iphone_makers_poison_apple_reputation#commentsNewsAAPLanalystsApple Inc.apple suppliersAsianfrustrationsinvestorsPoison Applereputationsharestock marketiPadiPhoneiPodMacMon, 22 Apr 2013 13:03:54 +0000J.R. Bookwalter16785 at http://www.maclife.comOvernight Recap: Apple Dips Below $400, Free FX Photo Studio, Pocket Sharinghttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/overnight_recap_apple_dips_below_400_free_fx_photo_studio_pocket_sharing
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/fx_photo_studio_iphone_free_200px.png" alt="FX Photo Studio for iPhone" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Something tells us that Apple is headed for another boffo year in 2013, but first they have to endure the fickle nature of stockholders who lose confidence in the company with each new rumor of delays or any sign of trouble in Cupertino. Wednesday was a perfect example, with Apple's stock price dipping below $400 for the first time in nearly two and a half years. Is it a sign of the company "Applepocalypse," pre-quarterly earnings jitters or just business as usual? Only time will tell...</p><h3>Apple Stock Price Dips Below $400 for First Time Since 2011</h3><p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100649481" target="_blank">CNBC reported Wednesday</a> that investors continue to lose faith in Apple Inc., with the iPhone maker's stock price dipping below $400 for the first time since December 23, 2011. While share prices crawled above $400 by the close of business ($402.80 at this writing), recent rumors of product delays and a 15 percent drop in estimated revenue from Apple supplier Cirrus Logic appear to be taking their toll. The timing couldn't be worse, with Apple scheduled to announce its fiscal second-quarter earnings on April 23 -- a quarter whose only "new" product of any significance was the 128GB iPad.</p><h3>Thursday Only: Free FX Photo Studio for iPhone</h3><p><a href="http://fxphotostudioapp.com/onedayfree" target="_blank">MacPhun LLC has been teasing</a> an update to <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fx-photo-studio/id312506856?mt=8" target="_blank">FX Photo Studio for iPhone</a> the last week, and with good reason: For the first time ever, the app is absolutely free on Thursday, April 18 only. Version 5.1 isn't just lighter on the wallet -- the update improves performance, Facebook and Instagram sharing, adds a dedicated FX Photo Studio album to your photo library and now supports the maximum resolution possible on the iPhone 5. And that's on top of the usual bug fixes, interface tweaks and even a new in-app filter collection. But grab it while you can, because this deal turns back into a pumpkin around midnight local time.</p><h3>Pocket Adds Send to Friend Sharing to iOS, Mac, Android</h3><p><a href="http://getpocket.com/blog/2013/04/introducing-pockets-send-to-friend-share-with-the-people-who-matter-most/" target="_blank">The folks at Pocket celebrated their first anniversary</a> since shedding the Read It Later name, and gave users a special "thank you" in the form of updates to its free mobile and desktop (Mac and web) apps. The big news is an all-new sharing menu that adapts to a users' most-used services, be they Facebook, Twitter, Evernote or something else. Send to Friend also adds the ability to share Pocket content via email, even to people who don't use the app. Pocket users will instead receive an optional push notification for reading the shared article within the app, with the heads-up also appearing inside a new Inbox, where incoming articles can be added to a list or ignored. As always, the updates are free on all supported platforms.</p><h3>Photoshop Shake Reduction Tool Will Soon Put Images Back in Focus</h3><p>Adobe's 2013 MAX conference kicks off on May 6, and the company is using social media to help grow awareness and raise anticipation for the big event. On Wednesday, Senior Photoshop Product Manager Zorana Gee <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stUD-DRhTZg" target="_blank">hosted a YouTube sneak peek</a> of an upcoming new feature for reducing blur in photographs. Camera Shake Reduction doesn't quite sound like a feature that would tackle such a task, but that's exactly what it will do, particularly for images shot in low light or under slow shutter speeds. Judging from the video sneak peek, this looks like the filter to beat in the forthcoming update to Adobe Photoshop -- check it out for yourself in the video embedded below!<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/stUD-DRhTZg" width="620" height="349" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><h3>FxFactory Adds Ripple Timelines for Final Cut Pro X</h3><p>Noise Industries has been on fire lately, working with its partners to create slick new skills for Final Cut Pro X by way of their FxFactory software. The latest addition is <a href="http://www.noiseindustries.com/blog/final-cut-pro/timelines/" target="_blank">Ripple Timelines</a>, billed as a "video time machine" which creates fully customizable graphical transitions. And they do mean customizable: Users can select one of eight different transition styles, then adjust the colors, background image and text to their heart's content. Best of all, the $59 plug-in features an introductory price of only $39 until April 21, so FCPX editors are encouraged to give the demo videos a peek and grab it quick before the price goes up.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/overnight_recap_apple_dips_below_400_free_fx_photo_studio_pocket_sharing#commentsNewsAdobe PhotoshopApp StoreApple Inc.free appsFX Photo StudioFxFactoryovernight recapPocketSharingstock marketiPadiPhoneiPodMacThu, 18 Apr 2013 12:25:01 +0000J.R. Bookwalter16758 at http://www.maclife.comiPhone Worth More Than Everything Microsoft Makes Combined?http://www.maclife.com/article/news/iphone_worth_more_everything_microsoft_makes_combined
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/apple_microsoft_logo_mashup_200px.png" alt="Apple Microsoft logos combined" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />A recent <em>Vanity Fair</em> article focusing on "Microsoft's Lost Decade" has put Redmond's troubles in a very interesting light, noting that Apple's iPhone -- a product that didn't even exist until five years ago -- is now worth more than all of Microsoft's products put together.<br /><br />Exactly how big is the iPhone? <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/08/19/apples-iphone-is-now-worth-more-than-all-of-microsoft/" target="_blank">According to Forbes</a>, it's worth more than all of Microsoft's products put together -- at least when you look at the numbers.<br /><br />"One Apple product, something that didn’t exist five years ago, has higher sales than everything Microsoft has to offer," <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2012/08/microsoft-lost-mojo-steve-ballmer" target="_blank">a recent <em>Vanity Fair</em> article notes</a>. "More than Windows, Office, Xbox, Bing, Windows Phone, and every other product that Microsoft has created since 1975. In the quarter ended March 31, 2012, iPhone had sales of $22.7 billion; Microsoft Corporation, $17.4 billion."<br /><br />This isn't exactly news -- after all, Apple's fortunes have been rising in recent years as its once formidable rival on the desktop front has been on the decline. But Forbes makes the argument that the iPhone is actually worth more than Microsoft, a pretty staggering claim for those of us who remember the dark days at Apple in the mid-1990's.<br /><br />"Too much of the value that we ascribe to Apple is of the entire ecosystem, including the company’s reputation for style, for us to really be able to pull out separate market valuations for a specific product," the Forbes article notes.<br /><br />While Apple's fortunes are soaring on the stock market, it ultimately comes down to the raw sales data -- and how Apple has managed to capitalize on it.<br /><br />"And the thing is, that’s not really the most remarkable thing about Apple’s recent achievements," Forbes concludes. "The truly strange thing is that they’ve managed to gain this level of sales while making software style margins on selling hardware. That’s the trick that no one else is managing at all."<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/iphone_worth_more_everything_microsoft_makes_combined#commentsNewsApple Inc.brand valuecompetitionForbesiphoneMicrosoftProductssales figuresstock marketVanity FairiPhoneMon, 20 Aug 2012 13:14:31 +0000J.R. Bookwalter14843 at http://www.maclife.comThe Best App for Visualizing the Stock Market: StockTouchhttp://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/best_app_visualizing_stock_market_stocktouch
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u307916/2012/Online/appreviews/stockthumb.jpg" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Trying to make sense of the stock market can be thankless, daunting work. To the untrained eye, tickers are an undecipherable mix of letters and numbers--and even the best investing minds struggle to keep up with the constant ebbs and flows.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><br /><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&amp;offerid=146261&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fstocktouch%252Fid445170859%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" target="_blank">StockTouch</a> attempts to cut through the fog by boiling the market down to its simplest denominators. With a brilliant array of reds and greens, StockTouch collects 900 of the top U.S. or global companies--equally divided into nine sectors--into a sort of heat map that visualizes the market like no other investing tool in the App Store (or anywhere else, for that matter). <br /><br />Take Apple (AAPL), for instance. Any app can show you an ascending graph marking its progress along with the latest news, price, range, P/E ratio and market cap (which StockTouch does), but StockTouch's unique presentation lets you see how it's doing in relation to its fellow tech stocks and the market as a whole; marking it as a favorite literally makes it stand out from the pack. (As an added bonus, StockTouch keeps your favorites organized across your iOS devices without the annoyance of an account.)<br /><br />Each of the hundreds of surrounding stocks is represented by a percentage and a corresponding shade of red or green, denoting its performance for the specified time period (from real time to five years). At a glance, you're able to see if the market is having a bad day (mostly red) and if the tech sector received a boost (mostly green) from Apple or Google (bright green).<br /><br />To zero in on a stock just pinch out to zoom in on a sector and again to see the stock's full information. But iPad users will want to stay pinched out, where StockTouch's beauty can be displayed in all its glory.</p><p><em>The Best is a weekly column in which we spotlight the most helpful or impressive iOS app to fit a certain need, whether it's a part of your day-to-day life or just something cool that might come in handy down the line.</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/best_app_visualizing_stock_market_stocktouch#commentsGalleryAppLifeAppsiOSstock marketStocksStockTouchThe BestiPadiPhoneiPodWed, 04 Apr 2012 20:38:05 +0000Michael Simon13732 at http://www.maclife.comMonday Recap: AAPL Closes at $600, 3 Million New iPads, AT&T’s Good Fridayhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/monday_recap_aapl_closes_600_3_million_new_ipads_att%E2%80%99s_good_friday
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/apple_stock_600_200px.png" alt="Apple stock price Monday, March 19, 2012" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Wow! What a weekend for the new iPad, which Apple announced today moved three million units in 10 countries around the world. But new iPad owners aren’t the only ones happy today -- investors liked the sound of Cupertino’s new dividend and share repurchase plan announced early this morning, which is pushing the company ever higher. How high can they go? Is it possible for what goes up to actually stay up? These are questions we may never have the answers to -- but have a look at the news for Monday, March 19 and you be the judge.</p><h3>AAPL Closes Above $600 Per Share</h3><p>Have a look at that screenshot above from Apple’s own Stocks app -- investors must have liked the sound of what they heard during this morning’s conference call to discuss Cupertino’s cash hoard, because they sent AAPL shares flying to heights they’ve never been before, closing at $601.10 per share for the first time in history (and shortly after cracking the $600 barrier earlier this month). Even more remarkable, today’s high comes less than five weeks after the company’s climb to $500 per share on February 13. Which brings us to Apple’s other good news today...</p><h3>Apple Announces 3 Million New iPads for Launch Weekend</h3><p>The media was scratching its collective head this morning expecting Apple to announce how many new iPads found a home over the weekend -- but none came. Thankfully, Cupertino isn’t keeping us in suspense any longer, <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/03/19New-iPad-Tops-Three-Million.html" target="_blank">announcing Monday afternoon that the new iPad sold three million units</a> since launching on Friday, March 16 in the United States and nine other countries around the world. For those keeping score, the original iPad took 80 days to sell three million units -- a feat the new iPad accomplished in less than four days. “The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold -- the strongest iPad launch yet,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can't wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday.” That’s right: Apple will roll the new iPad out to 24 more countries come this Friday, March 23, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.</p><h3>Dropbox Announces Sharing to Facebook Friends -- On Twitter</h3><p>Sometimes, the irony is so obvious, you have to wonder how it’s possible for these companies not to see it. <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/Dropbox/status/181770523582267393" target="_blank">The fine folks at Dropbox took to Twitter today to announce</a> that invitations to shared folders can now be sent to… Facebook friends? You’d think that Dropbox would want to get the word out to Facebook users, but they must be covering all their bases by hitting their Twitter feed with the news as well. #LOL</p><h3>Notes from Apple’s Cash Balance Conference Call</h3><p>This morning, Apple held an early morning conference call to announce plans for a dividend and share repurchase program that kicks off later this year, much to the glee of investors. While the press release covered most of the basics, <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/19/apple-announces-plans-to-initiate-dividend-and-share-repurchase-program/" target="_blank">MacRumors has gathered notes from the call itself</a>, which included a recap of the company’s current activity. However, the main impetus of the call was on the company’s nearly $100 billion pile of cash, $64 billion of which resides outside the United States. Noting that the company has “been very disciplined with the use of our cash,” CFO Peter Oppenheimer laid out the three prongs of the company’s investment opportunities: “Current income for our longterm shareholders, increase attractiveness to a broader investment base and preserve value from employee equity dilution.” Analysts who dialed into the call were hoping for more details on the company’s future product pipeline, to which CEO Tim Cook noted, “We actually do love to announce new products, we just don’t do it in conference calls.”</p><h3>AT&amp;T Reports Record “Sales and Activations” for New iPad on Friday</h3><p>While Apple made it clear that this morning’s conference call would be focused strictly on the company’s dividend and share repurchase program, analysts couldn’t stop themselves from asking about the new iPad’s debut weekend. Despite Apple’s claims during the call that the third-generation tablet had a “record weekend” and remarking that they were “thrilled with it,” Cupertino was curiously quiet this morning, with no press release shouting the initial numbers from the rooftops. Carrier partner AT&amp;T, on the other hand, was quite happy to do it for them, <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/att-statement-on-ipad-sales-2012-03-19" target="_blank">announcing that Friday’s launch day</a> set “a new single-day record for its iPad sales and activations, demonstrating robust demand for the new iPad on the nation’s largest 4G network.”<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/monday_recap_aapl_closes_600_3_million_new_ipads_att%E2%80%99s_good_friday#commentsNewsApple Inc.AT&Tconference callDropboxFacebookiPadlaunch daynew ipadsales numbersstock marketTwitteriPadMon, 19 Mar 2012 22:29:51 +0000J.R. Bookwalter13584 at http://www.maclife.com6 Ways Apple Kicked Everyone’s Butts (Including Their Own!)http://www.maclife.com/article/features/6_ways_apple_kicked_everyone%E2%80%99s_butts_including_their_own
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/apple_cool_blue_logo_620px.png" alt="Apple logo cool blue" width="620" height="300" /></p><p>MacLife.com readers are among the most awesome Apple fans on the planet, so we don’t have to tell you how our favorite company has been chewing bubblegum and kicking ass (bonus points to those who can name which movie that line hails from!). But sometimes we just need to see it laid out in one awesome post -- and here it is!<br /><br />Somewhere up in heaven, Steven Paul Jobs must surely be smiling. The Apple co-founder left this mortal coil at age 56 on October 5, 2011, just as the company was a few days into its most amazing fiscal quarter ever, which just so happened to top off Apple’s best year ever. The folks in Cupertino have kicked so much ass lately that they actually have enough left over to backwash in their own awesome. Here’s a look at six ways they’re most awesome than everyone else -- including themselves.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/apple_worth_more_than_ms_and_google_620px.png" alt="Microsoft + Google = Apple" width="620" height="100" /></p><h3>More Valuable: Apple vs. Microsoft and Google</h3><p>While the press loves to have a field day proclaiming Google’s Android victor of the smartphone market while Microsoft continues to dominate the desktop with Windows, Apple has been quietly setting them both up for a smackdown -- at least when it comes to who’s worth more than whom.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/apple-worth-more-than-google-microsoft-combined/2012/02/10/gIQAYb7I4Q_story.html" target="_blank">Apple Inc. is technically worth more than Microsoft and Google combined</a>, thanks to Cupertino’s present market capitalization of $465 billion. Microsoft -- who soared to a high of $642 billion back in late 2000 -- maintains a market cap of $257 billion today, and that’s including everything the company offers: Its market-leading Xbox 360 and yes, MS Office and Windows software, too.<br /><br />Search giant Google may be drowning in plenty of cash on its own thanks to advertising, but remember, its Android mobile operating system is open source -- meaning HTC, Motorola, Samsung, LG and others who use it in their smartphone and tablet offerings aren’t really paying for it, legal fees over patent disputes with Apple aside. Google’s own market cap sits as $197 billion, which means that Cupertino could wipe the floor with them more than twice over and still have enough cash left over to be worth more than the entire coffee industry worldwide, with a current value of $70 billion.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/walmart_store_front_620px.png" alt="Walmart store front" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>More Profitable: Apple vs. Walmart</h3><p>The house that Sam Walton built is generally considered one of the Goliaths of the retail world, and its mighty reach extends around the world, <a href="http://walmartstores.com/aboutus/246.aspx" target="_blank">with 5,366 stores in 27 countries other than the United States</a>. But when it comes to sheer profitability, Walmart can’t hold a candle to Apple Inc.<br /><br />In the final quarter of 2011, Walmart took in $109.5 billion -- more than double Apple’s insanely large revenue haul of $46.33 billion during the same three months. However, Walmart only kept $3.3 billion in profit compared to Apple’s $13.1 billion, nearly four times Walmart’s profit, all while spending three times less on overall operations. Take that, Wally World!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/iphone_vs_everyone_else_chart_480px.jpg" alt="OS market share chart" width="480" height="346" /></p><h3>Fewer Models: iPhone vs. Everyone Else</h3><p>Much has been written about Android’s domination of the smartphone market, much to the chagrin of Microsoft’s Windows Phone, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry, Nokia’s Symbian and sadly, the late, great webOS from HP/Palm. <a href="https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/pressreleases/pr_120206" target="_blank">Recent data from The NPD Group </a>finds Android holding a commanding lead of the U.S. market -- 53 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with 43 percent for Apple’s iPhone.<br /><br />The big factoid to remember here, of course, is that Apple is duking it out against Android with a mere three models: The current showboat model (iPhone 4S), 2010’s controversial iPhone 4, and perhaps even more amazing, 2009’s iPhone 3GS, which has now become the company’s 99-cent worm that Apple uses to hook budget users onto the iOS juggernaut.<br /><br />Contrast that with <a href="http://www.google.com/phone/" target="_blank">the whopping 87 different models of current Android devices</a> (which admittedly includes 10-15 tablet models). The fact that Apple has managed to maintain a strong foothold in the smartphone market against a veritable tidal wave of Android models is a testament to just how good the iOS platform is. The remaining nine percent of the U.S. smartphone market is made up of everybody else -- RIM, Microsoft and Nokia, once the titans of the very mountain they now find themselves struggling to climb.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/aapl_stock_breaks_500_620px.png" alt="Apple stock price Monday, Feb. 13, 2012" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>Higher Market Cap: Apple vs. ExxonMobil</h3><p>Yeah, those two companies don’t traditionally have much to do with each other, but with Apple’s stock price breaking the $500 mark on February 13 -- and staying there by the end of market close -- the company is now worth more than ExxonMobil Corp. by roughly 17 percent.<br /><br />The seductive stock market dance between AAPL and XOM has been doing some fancy footwork since last summer, with Apple briefly taking the top spot but Exxon quickly beating back the iPhone maker. That changed last week, as Apple’s market capitalization hit $465 billion, eclipsing the energy company’s “mere” $400 billion.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/apple-stock-breaks-500-level-continuing-two-week-rally-worth-17-percent-more-than-exxon/2012/02/13/gIQACAHyAR_story.html" target="_blank">Even better news for Apple</a>: Wall Street analysts say Cupertino’s stock should be worth even more -- somewhere in the neighborhood of $588 per share. Between the forthcoming iPad refresh next month, a new iPhone later this year and a rumored HDTV, Apple may soon be telling ExxonMobil to eat its dust in a big way.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/ipad_looks_down_at_losers_620px.png" alt="iPad looks down at tablet losers" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>One Tablet to Rule Them All: iPad vs. The Rest (and Itself)</h3><p>Apple’s share of the global tablet market may have shrunk to 57 percent in the final quarter of 2011 -- down from 64 percent in the prior quarter -- but some of that may actually be the company competing against another one of its own products.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.isuppli.com/Display-Materials-and-Systems/News/Pages/Apples-Toughest-Competition-in-the-Fourth-Quarter-Tablet-Market-Was-Apple.aspx" target="_blank">According to recent research from iSuppli</a>, some of that loss comes from customers choosing the iPhone 4S instead of any kind of tablet -- little surprise given the record 37 million iPhones sold during the fourth quarter of 2011. By comparison, the iPad shipped 15.4 million units, up from 11.1 million in the third quarter.<br /><br />So how did the rest of the tablet makers fare? Amazon’s much-hyped Kindle Fire moved 3.9 million units from its mid-November debut through the end of the year, a respectable number that should have everyone except Apple concerned. By comparison, Barnes and Noble pushed out a mere 1.9 million Nook tablets, while Samsung’s Galaxy Tab series shipped 2.1 million for a total of six million all year long.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/apple_vs_apple_chart_594px.png" alt="Apple sales chart 28 years" width="594" height="525" /></p><h3>There Can Be Only One: Apple Inc. vs. Apple Computer</h3><p>Last but not least, <a href="http://www.asymco.com/2012/02/16/ios-devices-in-2011-vs-macs-sold-it-in-28-years/" target="_blank">look no further than this amazing chart from Asymco</a> if you want to see at a glance how truly awesome Apple Inc. is. This graphic charts the rise of the Mac (and even Apple II) computer over the last 28 years compared with the rise of iOS devices since their introduction in 2007. iOS deftly kicked the Mac OS X platform in less than four years, but even more incredible is that Apple sold more iOS devices in 2011 alone -- 156 million -- than all Macintosh computers sold over the last 28 years, which currently stands at a mere 122 million.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a><br /><br />(Images courtesy of Abrition, Asymco, CNN Money, Gizmodo, The NPD Group)</em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/features/6_ways_apple_kicked_everyone%E2%80%99s_butts_including_their_own#commentsandroidApple Inc.bags o' moneyGooglekicking assMarket CapMarket ShareMicrosoftstock marketWall StreetFeaturesiPadiPhoneMacThu, 23 Feb 2012 20:31:56 +0000J.R. Bookwalter13340 at http://www.maclife.comMonday Recap: VLC 2.0 Incoming, Apple Warns Pegatron, EU OK with Googorolahttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/monday_recap_vlc_20_incoming_apple_warns_pegatron_eu_ok_googorola
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/apple_stock_price_02-13-12_200px.png" alt="Apple stock price Monday, Feb. 13, 2012" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />How about that Apple Inc.! Today marked the fateful day when the company’s stock price soared above the $500 per share mark, so there was likely a cascading fountain or champagne in ol’ Cupertino today. Definitely a nice early Valentine for Apple, but the week is young and there’s plenty more excitement to come, we’re sure. For now, let’s kick back and bask in the glow of a warm Monday, February 13, 2012, shall we…?</p><h3>VLC 2.0 Imminent with New UI for Mac, Apps for iOS and Android</h3><p>It wasn’t so long ago that open-source media player VLC appeared marked for death on the Mac platform, with developer VideoLAN short on coders capable of moving the application into a 64-bit world. Thankfully, that nightmare has passed and <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/13/2794986/VLC-2-rc1-mac-windows-android-ios-download" target="_blank">now The Verge is reporting</a> that a version 2.0 of VLC will debut later this week sporting “an all-new UI for Mac users, support for fullscreen mode in Lion, experimental support for Blu-ray playback in OS X, and extended codec support.” The new version consolidates playlists, media libraries and controls into one window, introducing a new white on black look that echoes QuickTime X, rather than the QuickTime of yore seen in previous versions. A release candidate is available for download now, and the change log included there also teases that VideoLAN is hard at work on a port of VLC 2.0 for both iOS and Android -- quite the shocker considering the drama that erupted last year when the VLC iOS app was unceremoniously yanked from App Store shelves over an open-source licensing dispute.</p><h3>European Union is A-OK with “Googorola”</h3><p><a href="http://allthingsd.com/20120213/google-gets-european-okay-for-motorola-mobility-purchase/" target="_blank">AllThingsD is reporting</a> that the European Union has given an “all-clear” to Google for the purchase of Motorola Mobility, a big step toward making the deal a reality in the early part of this year. However, EU regulators still have some concerns, most notably in how Google intends to use Moto’s bulging patent portfolio. “This merger decision should not and will not mean that we are not concerned by the possibility that, once Google is the owner of this portfolio, Google can abuse these patents, linking some patents with its Android devices,” Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters. “This is our worry.” While there’s little chance of Google using the patents to keep Android away from other manufacturers, there’s a much larger possibility of the search giant using the patents as a club against competitors like Apple. For now, Google is simply basking in the joy of crossing a major hurdle. “This is an important milestone in the approval process and it moves us closer to closing the deal,” Google said in a blog post. “We are now just waiting for decisions from a few other jurisdictions before we can close this transaction.”</p><h3>Apple to Pegatron: Stop Making MacBook Air Knockoffs</h3><p>You’d think handling a big chunk of manufacturing for the world’s hottest technology company would be enough for Pegatron, but apparently not. <a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120213PB201.html" target="_blank">According to DigiTimes</a>, Pegatron is being pressured by Apple to abandon manufacturing for Asustek Computer’s new line of ultrabooks. The problem stems from how closely the Asus Zenbook notebooks resemble Apple’s MacBook Air, “especially in its outer design.” Needless to say, “Apple reportedly was unhappy” to discover Pegatron was also manufacturing the knockoff ultrabooks, and given that the manufacturer just started assembling iPhones last year “and is eager to solicit orders for next-generation iPads,” something’s gotta give. The report claims Pegatron will wind down Zenbook production by the end of March, forcing Asustek to outsource the work to either Compai Electronics or Wistron.</p><h3>NPD Data Touts Apple as Number One Brand for 2011</h3><p>Apple’s blowout final quarter for 2011 continues to make shock waves across the industry, and <a href="https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/pressreleases/pr_120213" target="_blank">today The NPD Group released data</a> that showed Cupertino “accounted for 19 percent of all sales dollars” during the period, eclipsing second-place Hewlett-Packard by nearly double for a 36 percent growth in sales over previous 2010 data. That puts Apple as the number one ranked U.S. brand for the entire 2011 calendar year, while second place HP declined three percent, third-place Samsung declined six percent, fourth place Sony declined 21 percent and fifth-place Dell declined 17 percent. (Hey, we’re sensing a pattern here: Apple rises, everyone else falls?) Despite record traffic to Apple’s retail locations, Best Buy walked away with the top retailer spot for the year, followed by Walmart and Apple, with a tie between Staples and Amazon in fourth place to round out the top five, a repeat of last year’s results.</p><h3>All-Time High: Apple Shares Soar Past $500</h3><p><a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/13/apple-share-price-breaches-500-hits-all-time-high/" target="_blank">MacRumors is reporting</a> that Apple’s stock price made the record books today, breaking the glass ceiling of $500 per share after rising more than $75 per share in less than three weeks, an 18 percent increase. Thus far, the price appears to be staying put, too: At the close of the stock market on Monday, AAPL is $501.53, which puts its worth at more than $469 billion -- “the most valuable public company in the world by a significant margin,” notes MacRumors, since second-place ExxonMobil is only worth around $400 billion at the moment. That said, Apple still has a way to go if they want to match Microsoft, who had a peak market cap of $642 billion back in September, 2000.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/monday_recap_vlc_20_incoming_apple_warns_pegatron_eu_ok_googorola#commentsNewsApple Inc.Asusdaily recapEuropean UnionGooglemacbook airMotorolaPegatronstock marketVLCZenbookiPhoneMacMon, 13 Feb 2012 21:42:14 +0000J.R. Bookwalter13278 at http://www.maclife.comWho Woulda Thunk It: Apple Stock Up 10 Percent Since Steve Jobs’ Departurehttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/who_woulda_thunk_it_apple_stock_10_percent_steve_jobs%E2%80%99_departure
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/wall_street_sign_200px.png" alt="Wall Street sign" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Remember all the hand-wringing and analyst prognostications about gloom and doom at Apple if and when CEO Steve Jobs ever stepped down? Apparently the folks on Wall Street don’t, because Apple’s stock is flying high since Tim Cook stepped into the CEO shoes nearly a month ago.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/apple-stock-up-10-since-jobs-exit/" target="_blank">Deadline is reporting</a> that fears of Wall Street retreating from Apple Inc. in the wake of CEO Steve Jobs’ departure nearly a month ago appear to be unfounded, with the company’s stock actually inching higher over the last four weeks rather than retreating as many predicted.<br /><br />“Wall Street is giving Apple’s post-Steve Jobs transition a thumbs-up, at least so far,” the website reported on Monday. “The company’s shares rose 2.78 percent today to close regular trading at $411.63, an all-time high for Apple. The surge gives it a market valuation of $381.6B, making it the most valuable company on the stock market. Exxon Mobil had held the top market cap at $358.3B. The stock is up 10.14 percent since the day after Jobs stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Tim Cook nearly a month ago.”<br /><br />Now how about that! Apple’s board of directors must be smiling indeed, as it appears the company’s transition strategy has worked out just fine so far. If newly appointed CEO Tim Cook can guide the company through the next month or so with the release of a next-generation iPhone and the debut of iCloud, the future looks bright indeed.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/who_woulda_thunk_it_apple_stock_10_percent_steve_jobs%E2%80%99_departure#commentsNewsanalystsApple Inc.Board of DirectorsiCloudiphone 5Steve Jobsstock marketTim CookWall StreetTue, 20 Sep 2011 13:24:02 +0000J.R. Bookwalter12411 at http://www.maclife.comApple Closes as World's Most Valuable Companyhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_closes_worlds_most_valuable_company
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220907/apple_0.jpg" alt="apple" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />As most of you have no doubt seen by now, it has been a wild ride in the stock markets across the globe this week.&nbsp; Despite the volatility, Apple did have a bright spot in that it was able to close today as the world's most valuable company, overtaking Exxon Mobil.&nbsp; <br /><br />Yesterday, Apple had passed Exxon Mobil on several occasions as the most-valuable publicly traded company, but the oil giant ended ahead of Apple.&nbsp; Today was a different story, despite both companies' stock prices being down.&nbsp; The difference maker though was that Exxon Mobil finished lower, clinching the spot for Apple.<br /><br />Apple finished at $363.49, with a market cap of $337.17 billion.&nbsp; Exxon Mobil finished at $68.03, with a valuation of $330.88 billion.<br /><br />That said though, while Apple may currently be worth more than Exxon Mobil, Exxon is still the bigger company.&nbsp; Exxon raked in $10.7 billion in profit on $121.4 billion in revenue in the June quarter with 83,600 employees.<br /><br />By comparison, Apple made $7.3 billion on $28.6 billion in revenue with 46,600 employees last quarter.&nbsp; <br /><br /><em>via <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/10/apple-closes-as-the-most-valuable-company-in-the-world/">MacRumors</a></em><br /><br /><em>Follow this article's author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/mtilmann">Matthew Tilmann on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_closes_worlds_most_valuable_company#commentsNewsappleExxonMobilfinancialinvestingInvestmentsInvestorstock marketThu, 11 Aug 2011 02:43:49 +0000Matthew Tilmann12003 at http://www.maclife.comShareholders to Apple: Show Us the Moneyhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/shareholders_apple_show_us_money
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/apple_shareholder_200px.jpg" alt="Apple shareholder Christopher Bonavico" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />You would think that with Apple riding high in the stock market, investors would be breaking out the champagne and celebrating. Unfortunately, with the holiday quarter financial results coming on Tuesday, the sound of grumbling is what Cupertino is hearing instead.<br /><br /><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704029704576088091711588606.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories" target="_blank"><em>The Wall Street Journal </em>is reporting</a> that some Apple stockholders are exactly bullish over how the company is hoarding cash these days -- some $50 billion right now, which is expected to swell to $70 billion by the end of the year. According to <em>WSJ</em>, that sum “exceeds the gross domestic product of two-thirds of the world’s countries.”<br /><br />Despite sitting on a veritable mountain of greenbacks, Apple is playing Scrooge when it comes to spreading that wealth to shareholders via dividends or buybacks -- instead, Cupertino is keeping the money close to home, offering only “dismissive koans about possible acquisitions and the need to remain flexible and conservative.”<br /><br />That conservatism has outraged shareholders like Christopher Bonavico, who oversees $700 million in Apple stock at Delaware Investments. While Bonavico raves about Apple, he claims the company “is destroying value” by holding tight to the cash, even as he claims that Cupertino is undervalued by as much as 30 percent.<br /><br />"We absolutely love the product strategy,” Bonavico gushes. “However, they are leaving money on the table by having such a large cash balance well below their cost of capital. The cash is earning near zero."<br /><br />Of course, few shareholders are as vocal as Bonavico, the portfolio manager at Delaware’s Focus Growth team. With Apple’s stock price riding high, most are content with seeing their shares rise nearly three times since the market tumbled in March, 2009 -- but questions about the company’s cash hoarding threaten to swell to a crescendo over time.<br /><br />"I think it has been beyond the point of being rational for a while now," claims Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, claiming that even a $15 billion acquisition of a company like Netflix could easily be financed, thereby leaving plenty of buybacks or dividends for all.<br /><br />Apple will announce their fiscal year 2011 fourth-quarter financial results on Tuesday, on the heels of CEO Steve Jobs’ announcement Monday that he will be taking a medical leave of unknown duration.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a><br /><br />(Image courtesy of The Wall Street Journal)</em></p><p><em><br /></em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/shareholders_apple_show_us_money#commentsNewsApple Inc.financial analysisShareholdersstock marketTue, 18 Jan 2011 14:51:31 +0000J.R. Bookwalter9609 at http://www.maclife.comAnalyst Channel Checks Under Scrutiny by Fedshttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/analyst_channel_checks_under_scrutiny_feds
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/sec_seal_150px.png" alt="U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seal" width="150" height="150" class="graphic-right" />You’ve read about them here and many other places: The “channel checks” conducted by research analysts to prognosticate what Apple may be doing in the future. Now, the questionable practice has fallen under the watchful eye of the Federal government.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2010/11/24/u-s-regulators-investigating-research-analysts-over-channel-checks/" target="_blank">MacRumors is reporting</a> that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be setting their sights on the practice of “channel checks,” frequently used by research analysts (together with second-hand information from manufacturing partners) to make predictions on Apple’s future plans.<br /><br /><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730304575633173086330184.html" target="_blank">According to <em>The Wall Street Journal</em></a>, the SEC is now investigating the legality of such checks to determine “whether some of the tactics amount to insider trading as the analysts share the non-public information with their clients.”<br /><br />“Where once insider-trading cases were built around a single tip about a merger, for example, prosecutors appear to be broadening into new territory,” the report noted. “They are examining how arcane, confidential, but presumably routine data may move company stocks.”<br /><br />"Insider trading basically comes down to where you know or ought to know that the person from whom you're getting this information has a duty to someone else to keep it confidential," said former Securities and Exchange Commission Paul Atkins in a video interview with <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>. "If you go in and pay the mail clerk to give you special information, that's not proper."<br /><br />The investigation appears focused on research analysts who dig up information on Apple -- a frequent target for such channel checks due to the company’s secrecy regarding future plans, as well as their recent financial performance and stock growth.<br /><br />“Such channel-check information has become crucial to Apple traders, who have come to expect a weekly dose of information from channel checks about Apple's iPad and iPod businesses,” the report revealed. “Analysts relay the information -- known in the business as ‘build plans’ -- weekly to savvy technology investors, who often dart in and out of heavily-traded Apple shares. Such information has grown to be almost as important as Apple earnings, able to move shares throughout the quarter.”<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/analyst_channel_checks_under_scrutiny_feds#commentsNewsanalystsApple Inc.Governmentstock marketWed, 24 Nov 2010 15:05:36 +0000J.R. Bookwalter9042 at http://www.maclife.com